By Gao Yun
On Thursday, Feb. 12, U.S. President Donald Trump and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the repeal of a greenhouse gas reduction policy from the Obama administration. The two called it the largest regulatory rollback in U.S. history, estimating it could save the nation up to $1.3 trillion, or roughly $3,823.50 per American.
According to the New York Post, the press conference was held in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, with Zeldin and Trump both in attendance. Zeldin said, “Under President Trump’s leadership, the EPA today completed the largest single regulatory rollback in U.S. history.”
He noted that the policy being repealed was the “endangerment finding” implemented by the Obama administration in 2009.
This finding, based on the Clean Air Act, determined that greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels posed a threat to public health, providing the federal government with legal authority to regulate six major greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The policy also formed the legal foundation for multiple federal climate regulations in the United States.
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At the press conference, Trump called it “a disastrous decision of the Obama era,” saying it severely hurt the U.S. auto industry and forced consumers to bear higher costs. He stated that with the policy repealed, Americans would save tens of billions of dollars.
The president also pointed out that his administration is eliminating a series of unnecessary green emissions standards, which were originally scheduled to run from 2012 through 2027 and beyond, targeting environmental requirements for vehicle models and engines.
Zeldin said the move is expected to reduce the average cost of each vehicle by about $2,400.
The two also mentioned a direct and concrete effect of the policy change: future new cars may no longer be required to include the start-stop feature that automatically shuts off the engine at red lights. Trump described this feature as “annoying,” noting it had been federally mandated for U.S. consumers, causing the engine to shut off whenever the driver stopped at a red light.
In addition, Zeldin announced that automakers would no longer be required to measure, organize, or report greenhouse gas emissions data from their vehicles and engines.
According to The Guardian, Trump actually signed an executive order on his first day back in the White House, directing the EPA to reassess whether the endangerment finding should be retained.
In July 2025, Zeldin announced plans to repeal the policy. The EPA subsequently received over 500,000 public comments. Last month, the repeal proposal was submitted to the White House for review and was officially announced this Thursday.
